Rosenblatt Stadium: The baseball icon is gone

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Aug. 22, 2012 – A peculiar noise disrupted the morning air for residents of the fabled South Omaha neighborhood that had been the home of Rosenblatt Stadium and the College World Series for more than sixty years.

Minutes before 7 a.m. local time, the detonation of strategically placed explosives brought down the royal blue structure that hovered for decades over the stadium grandstand. Through that structure passed many a noteworthy personality over the years. Beneath it sat countless loyal fans of the game (and the stadium) seeking shelter from foul balls and the hot Nebraska sun.

Yesterday residents in the area immediately surrounding Rosenblatt Stadium received notices that they would hear an explosion shortly after sunrise. Today, down came crumbling the pointed A-Frame perch of broadcasters and journalists (and one special organist) over the years that left no doubt to passersby that here sat the real-life field of dreams.

Our nightmare is over. It happened like clockwork, just as the flyer advertised. I couldn’t hear it but I felt it clear out here in my Phoenix home. I felt the heartbreak with a twist of nausea all over again as my Twitter feed and Facebook wall promptly filled up with comments, videos and retweets of the gruesome sight. If this blog was called Forget Rosenblatt, I would probably share the images with you. For those of you who can handle the gory scene, search Google or YouTube.

Rosenblatt Stadium is gone for good. Okay – not for good, but forever.

Who knows? Maybe this will be a good thing for those who have had trouble letting go. What if this means we won’t have to bear our wounds being reopened each time a new image of a deteriorating Rosenblatt is posted online? Time will tell.